The Argument For Canned Beer

Too Good For Canned Beer? Don't Kid Yourself

There’s nothing better than a thirst-quenching swig of cold beer on a hot summer day after an exhausting hike or an afternoon spent in the sun. Wait a minute — that cold beer is in a can, and through years of exposure to social prejudice you believe it’s of a lesser quality than its bottled counterpart. Pondering the argument for canned beers, you come to realize that numerous craft micro brewers are now offering delicious, complex and interesting beers in cans. Your internal debate has also left you with numerous questions about canned beer: Does the aluminum can affect the taste? Does good-tasting beer store well in cans? Are there benefits to drinking a good beer from a can?

Sit back and finish your suds; we’re about to make that canned-beer experience taste just a bit better with our argument for canned beer.

the argument for canned beer

The biggest misconception about canned beer is that the aluminum can imparts a metallic taste. The insides of most cans and lids used for high-end craft beers have a sprayed coating, ensuring that there is absolutely no contact between the beer and the aluminum. Test the metal-taste theory: Pour a beer in a pint glass for a pal and have them taste it for any metal taste. Also consider that most people enjoy draft beer, which is housed in a metal keg. All you have to do is think of your canned beer as a mini keg.

As far as storage goes, canned beer might have a slight advantage over bottles in that cans actually protect beer from light and oxygen. Cans are airtight and oxygen-free. When light consistently hits a bottle of beer, it can turn skunky and ultimately undrinkable. Oxygen can also leach into a bottled beer under the bottle cap and affect the taste, which could potentially destroy the beer. There are more than 20 microbreweries currently offering canned beers, including the wildly popular New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale introduced in cans last summer. Another brewer, Lyons, Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery, a canned-craft beer pioneer, produced 12,409 barrels in 2007. In 2008, they produced 19,000 barrels. More and more people are drinking good canned beer, and the numbers don’t lie.

There are advantages to canned beer for sure, but more importantly, how does craft canned beer taste and why try it?

Canned beer is good for the outdoors

Ashland, Oregon-based Caldera Brewing Company lists some good reasons to drink canned beer: They chill quicker than bottles; they don’t break as easy as bottles; and they are versatile for taking camping, hiking and other more extreme outdoor activities.